As I've gotten to know some of my clients better I realized that we share a mutual love for photography. I suppose this is the reason they hire a professional photographer to photograph their family in the first place. So I've decided to start sharing what I'm interested in, reading about or looking at as a way to connect with people on a more personal level. This week I've been checking out Photo District News top 30 photographers of 2014. Photo District News is a great source for professional photography news and resources. There are many talented photographers in this list. The following are the photographers I was most drawn to.

Grant Harder- I love the feature image on his PDN profile listing. The image is of a glacial lake in Alberta, Canada. The first time I saw images of this part of the world I was in awe. The color of the water combined with the varying heights of the mountains and trees is just so beautiful.

Grant's photography has a documentary style, where his images tell the story of a place. After our trip to Myanmar I fell in love with this kind of photography and am focusing on story telling in my personal photography projects as well as portrait sessions.

Kiana Hayeri- Kiana is a photojournalist focusing mainly on the life and struggles of Iranian women. Fabio and I recently found out we're going to Iran at the end of May, beginning of June. I'm so excited to explore this culture and love the way Kiana's images tell important stories of the lives of Iranian women. If you look closely at the image below you will notice the women have stylish haircuts, are wearing makeup, sunglasses and texting. It seems they are trying to respect their culture but are expressing their own identity beneath the veil.

Kyle Johnson- Kyle also has the wonderful talent of telling a story with one image. The context, composition and light in his images are captivating.

Diana Markosian- Diana is a documentary photographer working in the Middle East and Russia among others and currently Myanmar. Her images show the stark contrast between the western world and other cultures. I am fascinated by the lives of people living in a vastly different way from what I consider "normal".